Lock for post-office boxes



(No Model.)

W. H. CAMP.

LOOK FOR POST OFFICE BOXES.

Patented Ju A! llfallacfli Ca/71070,

iii/077112? UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

wALLAcE H. cAMr, or WATERBURY,

CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR OF ON E- HALF TO BUSHROD H. CAMP, CF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

LOOK FOR POST-OFFICE BOXES.

SPECIFICATION forming part-of Letters Patent No. 280,718, dated July 3, 1883.

Application filed November 7, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, VVALLAcE H. CAMP, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at WVaterbury, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locks for Post-Office Letter-Boxes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it ap pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification, and in which Figure l is a front viewof a box with the door closed. Fig. 2 is a view with the door open, showing the inside of the door. Fig. 3 shows an end view of the door half way open. Fig. 4 is a topplan view of Fig. 3.

My invention relates to certain improvements in looks for post-office letter-boxes, and has for its object to'provide a lock for a letter box which will be self-locking upon closing the door, can be cheaply constructed, and by the use of which security and certainty of action are obtained; and it consists in certain novel construction and arrangement of parts, which I will now proceed to describe.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the frame of the box; B, the door hinged to said frame; C, the frame of the door, the top of said frame extending down any suitable distance-say about one-fifth ofthe length of the doorand having a lock attached in any suitable manner to the inner side of said top portion of the frame. D is the key-hole.

Extending across beneath the lock and around the remainder of the door-frame is the inwardly-proj ecting flange c c c 0, within which, by means of pressuresprings M N, is held a glass plate. The pressuresprings M N are secured at each end in any suituable manner to the flange c c c c, and are so curved or otherwise formed as to bear upon said glass plate and afford it the necessary elastic pressure to prevent fracture or rattling when the door is suddenly or violently closed.

E is the lock, and may be of any suitable construction; used.

F is a rod or leverworking in bearings a (4 attached to the frame of the door, said rod having on one end below the bearing a a bolt or A spri11g-lock is preferably catch, G, which engages with the inside of the frame of the box, and serves to lock the door when shut, the rod or lever F being bent at right angles j ust above the bearing a and again bent upward at the point b. Any suitable spring is applied to the rod F, the action of which keeps the catching or locking end G thrown out from the door in alocking position.

In the drawings the spring H is coiled around therod between the bearings a and a, one end of which presses against the door-frame just above the bearing a, and the other end pressing down 011 the horizontal portion of the rod F, thus keeping the end G in a position to lock the door when shut.

L is the slide of the lock, and has an inclined edge, Z. Said slide, when drawn back by turning the key, engages with the upper portion of the 'rod F, forcing it out from the case of the lock, and thus withdrawing the locking or catch end G from contact with the illside of the frame of the box, and thereby unlocking the door. The key being released, the slide of the lock springs forward and the spring throws the rod F into its normal or looking position. The bolt G is so arranged as to present an inclined surface to the box-frame when the door is being shut and the rod is in its nor mal position, and by pressing the door in, said bolt is forced back and slides past the inside edge of the box-frame until the door is shut, when the spring forces the bolt out against the inside of the box-frame and locks the door.

As a modification of my invention the lock may be placed at the bottom of the door and the lever or bent rod extend up instead of down, and the bearings for the rod or lever may be constructed as part of the lock-case; or the catch or bolt may be located between the bearings and the lock-slide, so constructed as to work directly on the catch or bolt.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim In a post-office box, the lock E, provided with a slide, L, having the inclined edge Z, in combination with the bent rod F, working in bearings a a, having the bolt or catch G on one end, and the spring H, substantially as and for the purpose shown and described.

I11 testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

Witnesses: WVALLACE H. CAMP.

ELLIOTT S. FENN, 1). F. WEBsTER. 

